Hi all, I’m Stacy Reed, aka Sya. I am one of the founders of the Apophysis community here at deviantART and served as admin for a while during it’s beginning years. I’m also the resident software reviewer for Tucows.com where I have maintained our libraries for over a decade

How did you discover deviantART ?

It’s part of my job as a professional software and web-services reviewer to keep up-to-date on what’s new and buzzworthy. If I remember right, I was looking for wallpapers to add to our Tucows collection and kept landing at deviantArt. I’ve been hooked ever since.

How did you discover them and start to create them ?

Back in the 90’s an online friend of mine shared a rather basic fractal application with me.

It displayed the Mandelbrot Set and you could animate it to watch it cycle through a rainbow of vivid colors. You could zoom in and out one agonizingly slow-render at a time. It was a bit clumsy compared to what we’re used to in today’s fractal software, but still, I felt like I was transported to another world! Later on, in the early 00’s, I would review any and all fractal software that was submitted to Tucows. It grew to be something of a passion.I began to save some of the results of my fractal explorations in apps like VChira and around that time, I was going to school to get my degree in Graphic Design, so I had access to great tools like Photoshop, which allowed me to explore even further with color and layers. And then Apophysis arrived on the scene...

What's your favorite tool of trades and why ?

Apophysis. No doubt about it. There are so many reasons, I don’t even know where to start.

OK, first of all, have you ever seen anything so airy and ethereal than a fractal flame dressed in a light gradient dancing upon a black background?

From an artist’s standpoint, there are so many variables and options that, with a bit of tweaking and perfecting, any random starting point can be turned into a work of art. It could be described as sculpting with math! Not to mention the times when, either by luck or coincidence, the artist stumbles upon that amazing Apo gem completely by random. I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about. It’s enough to give you chills! When I’m tugging triangles and adjusting variables, I see immediate results, I can undo or alter, it’s like being the master of my own universe, and that is a very liberating feeling!

What are your favorite kind of fractals ?

You know, I never can decide! Whenever I am experiencing that creative high while working with a fractal flame, I literally fall in love. I mean, I feel lost within time and space. I start finding details to finesse and shape until it is precisely what I envisioned. I love the way the right color palette can bring a piece to life. I love how certain shapes and lines flow together just so and how some fractal flames almost look as though they are dancing. When I am fully immersed, at that moment, it’s my favorite kind of fractal because I am so in love. So it changes all the time; how wonderful to have endless variety! Infinite combinations!

If you have to choose only one fractal in your gallery which one would it be and why ?

Ooo, tough question.

OK, after thinking it over, I’ll go with Efflorescence.

Every time I see it, I get lost within. This might make sense only to other creative individuals, but I think that is what music should look like. I see crescendos and harmony and even a catchy chorus. I’m also a sucker for the flourishy swirls. And, of course, red.

Do you have some tips for new comers in the fractal art world ?Spend some time learning the hotkeys. Fractal creation and exploration should be fun, not laborious. Using your keyboard to perform repetitive actions saves time, creates an atmosphere of precision that is easier to manipulate and you’re bound to produce better art as a result. Beyond that, I’d remind newcomers that they are dabbling with a concept so mind-blowing, that even the world’s best scientists, authors, computer geeks, and artists still get excited about, that is the concept of infinite possibility. If you get tired of trying to make something happen with your fractal, if you’re not feeling it, just save what you have and come back to it later if you want. For the time, move on. Why waste your time getting frustrated in one little world when there are infinite universes to discover?

I've got one more question for you... if you were the last one standing in the world, what would be the first thing you would do ?

I would cry. Show me a person who outlives an entire world full of fellow humans and isn’t moved to tears and I will show you a person with a heart made of concrete with chunks of jagged glass and spikes and nails sticking out. After that, maybe I’d go eat all the cotton candy I could find until I puked.

And you, what could you say about him ?IDeviant"I remember `Sya from the early days of the Apophysis community: she was heavily involved in the administration, indeed was a/the founder, and that community was actually the reason I joined deviantART in the first place! Her fractal artworks leaned towards the random/abstract flame look, but there is clearly nothing 'random' about them - they were always beautifully crafted to a wonderful soft and natural look that touched the soul, undoubtedly influenced by her strong artistic sense that also manifests in her traditional work. Looking through the fractal gallery, it's not easy to pick a single work, but in the end I selected

I find so captivating. It has the appearance of something simultaneously from the Hubble's probing of our galaxy and of some freak weather system high in our own atmosphere: great filamental contrails that lead to an intensely bright source of light, an object lesson in use of oversaturation. The muted and limited palette emphasises the natural appearance."

I hope you guyz enjoy this article and are ready for the next one in two weeks !!